The Beer Post

So, as you all may or may not know, I’m a beer guy. A beer connoisseur, if you may. For each game, I recommend a new brew for your enjoyment. I don’t expect you to imbibe immediately, but at some point, I do hope you try the beers I suggest. You see, I believe beer is a drink to savor, to study, to sip. Beer is more than just Buds and suds.

Just to give you a glimpse of where I am: Last night I returned home from driving through a treacherous snowstorm, and ate dinner with a glass of Sam Adams Chocolate Bock. Now, the bock is only available at this time of year, and comes in a larger, wine-style bottle, costing about $14. But it’s clearly worth the purchase — a stunning array of dark flavors, punctuated by the cool winter wind. Highly suggested.

Yes, this is the time of year when stronger beers are invited at my shelf. I enjoy the stouts, the porters and the bocks right now — I’ll take a Guinness, I’ll take a honey. As long as it’s dark and hearty, I’ll try it.

And to further quench your thirst, here are my favorite beers:

Harpoon Raspberry Hefeweizen UFO: The perfect combination of fruit and alcohol, and not too strong. The perfect late-spring, early-summer beer.

Sam Adams White Ale: Spicy but not intolerable, it goes down like a cool mist on a warm spring day. Best in April.

Opa Opa Milk Stout: Tried this not long ago — a nice amount of cream with the hard stout content. Great for January.

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43 Comments

T Marty

December 20, 2008 at 12:38 pm

well i hate to it admit it, but due to my portly frame and tendency to drink a lot i drink Miller Lite, (that whole “less filling” thing). But when i’m not thinking about my weight i love Molson Canadian. Anything Belgium is delicious. Every Christmas i get a pint of Duval to drink while opening presents.

a few years ago i spent two weeks in Belgium and that was “Beer Mecca”. i must have tried 40 different beers as the streets were lined with bars.

One of the things that got me hooked on this site was your gameday nod to (mostly) craft beers, my second love after the Phils. I’m a bit of a beer geek too and go out of my way to try everything I can. Some recent favorites I’ve been digging include:
– Nice surprises from Ipswich (Mercury Brewing); their Winter, Dark, and Original are all good.
– Coney Island Albino Python (Old Saratoga/Shmaltz) is a unique, strong, extra spicy take on white beer.
– Bell’s Expedition Stout, always epic, is a roasty, hoppy, viscous monster. PA folks are lucky to get Bell’s beers; we don’t in NJ.
– Victory Prima Pils is maybe the best pilsener made in the US, in close competition with Sly Fox Pikeland Pils. How about that? Philly is the US pils mecca! Well, there’s something to be said for fresh, local beer.

Chimay blue label- This has to be one of the tastiest beers I’ve ever had in my life.
Dock Street Bohemian Pilsner- A great beer that tastes good during any season. The perfect amount of hops. Light crisp flavor but yet still robust.
Philadelphia Brewing Company Rowhouse Red- Great amber beer with tons of flavor. Also good for all times of the year.
Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale- This is such a go to beer. You can never go wrong with it. This is the kind of beer that you can sip and enjoy or do a keg stand of. It is so smooth and another beer you can drink all year long.
Victory Hop Devil- Great IPA that gets you very drunk.
Troeg’s Wheat beer- Great summer beer. Great wheat beer. This is one of the beers that got me into drinking wheat beers.
Abita Purple Haze- Great wheat raspberry beer. Tastes like a wheat beer with a hint of raspberry flavor. Another great summer beer.
Magic Hat #9- Amazing summer beer. Light with a hint of apricot flavor. Don’t drink it on tap, it’s usually gross.
Yards IPA- Another great IPA. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much flavor in this beer. Doesn’t get you as trashed as other IPAs though.
Dock Street Russian Imperial Stout- This beer you can only get on draught at Dock Street. It just came out and is a great desert beer. It is 9.5% alcohol and comes in a snifter glass, but after you finish that snifter it hits you hard. It tastes like a chocolate milk shake. I’ll be very disappointed when it isn’t on tap there anymore.
Philadelphia Brewing Company Phillyz Nevidad- Another new beer from one of my favorite local brewers, PBC. Just came out for the holidays and it tastes like christmas.
Troeg’s Mad Elf- 11% alcohol…enough said.
Anchor Steam- Anything they make…
Leffe- It is watery but good. I can’t even describe it. Very light but very flavorful.

I’m probably missing a shit ton of beers I like, but this was just stuff off the top of my head.

I also enjoy a nice Blue Moon during the game, if I am only having a few (this goes for in my living room or at the game). They had Lienenkugel (sp) on tap at CBP for awhile and that’s pretty good as well.

Tim nice job on the beer suggestion during the season, I enjoy reading them.

hey Tim, I have to say that your list looked pretty good, espeacially being anchored by a hometown favorite… Lager. However, this time of year, a heavy beer is good… I reccomend, Yeungling Black and tan.

Petrus aged pale ale. It’s a sour beer, but absolutely delicious. Ommegang Hennepin. Sly Fox’ christmas ale is great this time of the year. And just like you said the Lager is great to have as the old stand by.

I’m a college student, so cost is an issue, but I like to think of myself as a connoisseur in training. That being said, I like Lion’s Head. Inexpensive pilsner, good flavor, and brewed locally in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Phil, yup, I’ve had it but not for a few years and only at CBP. Real good stuff, classic Czech style (love those saaz hops!) but, at least back then, I thought not quite in the league of Pikeland and Prima. They used to distribute DS to NJ but I don’t think I’ve seen any around for a while…might be due for a re-taste. I’ve been meaning to visit the brewpub.

I know I’m off the topic a bit,but in the same family….Nothing beats a good couple of shots of White Godiva this time of the year.It has a certain kick in taste,but as it goes down,oh that chocolate taste is worth it.Its also good in a cup of coffee on X-Mas morning.

I do remember about 10 years ago,there was a good Christmas bier,Not sure how its spelled,its called Samischlaus….14% alcohol but it was like 20 bucks for a 12oz bottle in Jekyll and Hydes.Me and 3 others chipped in for some,and it was worth it.

I’m a pretty simple beer guy, don’t like light beers at all and don’t really have a taste for the heavier stuff, so I stick with the middle of the road. I usually go with Yuengling, Molson, or Landshark. I like the Sam Adams products sometimes, depending on my mood. The Cherry Wheat is one I enjoy significantly more draught than from the bottle, the flavor’s much more pronounced and enjoyable.

In summary, most nights I drink beer, you’ll find me drinking a Yuengling.

I don’t know what it is…but that Grolsch mix pack slays me…Blonde, Red, and regular lager. It’s all very good. Other favorites…Magic Hat Number 9, off the tap only. Smithwicks is nice. There’s a good one down here in Lancaster, PA called Seven Gates that is being produced by a new microbrewery…http://www.springhousebeer.com/. And of course Lager.

Out of the ordinary favorite….Tennents Super….9% Alc. Scotland’s oldest lager. Goes great with Shepherd’s Pie or Pot Roast. It’s a Pale Lager, pretty light to the taste, not very hoppy at all. Subtly sweet. A helluva brew.

Tim…..If you ever get a chance, will you post all of your Gamenight Beers. I have tried a few, but now that the year is over I’d like to scan the list and try a few others.

It’d take too long to make a small list of great beers. So, straight up, Pennsylvania representing– drink some Pocono Lager –made in Wilkes-Barre by Lion’s Brewery. A good alternative to Yuengling. And come on, Phillies and Yuengling go hand in hand. And who drinks more than Phillies fans?

If you can find it, St. Bernardus Abt 12 is out of this world. Troegs Mad Elf is good for this time of year, and I’ll take anything by Dogfish (Raison D’Etra is probably my favorite, but the 90 min IPA and the Midas Touch are also excellent). My girlfriend and I took a trip to Cooperstown recently, and on top of seeing the bat that Joe Blanton his his home run with, we had the added bonus of sampling some beer from Ommegang, a local brewery there, and it did not disappoint.

Oh man, totally forgot all the great Belgian beers I’ve had. Yes, St. Berardus Abt. 12 is amazing. I had some sort of abbey ale at the Grey Lodge, and that tasted like peaches, but was potent as hell. Great stuff.